4  94? 


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A  few  words  to 
Conf  Pam  12mo  #947 


A^      PEW     "WORDS 


THE  SOLDIERS 


CONFEDERATE  STATES. 


CHARLESTON,  S.  C: 

PUBLISHED  FOR 

FEMALE    BIBLE,   PRAYER-BOOK,    AND   TRACT    SOCIETY- 
Krani  &  Oogsw«'.l,  Printers,  3  Broad  street 


■A.    FEW   WORDS 

TO    THE 

Soldiers  of  the  Confederate  States. 


It  is  related  that  as,  on  a  certain  occasion  some  years 
past,  in  England,  a  party  of  gentlemen  were  dining 
together,  among  the  company  were  found  a  colonel  of 
the  army  and  a  bishop  of  the  Church  of  England.  The 
colonel,  like,  as  he  presumed,  a  true  son  of  Mars,  fain 
would  wage  war  upon  the  son  of  the  Church  ;  but  as  it 
would  have  been  a  violation  of  military  courtesy  to 
make  a  direct  personal  attack  upon  him,  lie  determined 
to  thrust  at  him  through  the  cloak  of  religion,  and  thus 
take  him  at  disadvantage.  In  the  course  of  conversa- 
tion, the  colonel  let  drop  many  bitter  inuendoes  and 
insinuations  against  religion  in  general,  without  any 
apparent  effect  upon  his  intended  victim  ;  at  length, 
piqued  at  his  ill  success,  he  observed  that  the  only  ra- 
tional prayer  he  ever  heard,  proceeded  from  the  lips  of 
an  officer  just  on  the  eve  of  a  battle  ;  he  repeated  it  as 
fallow's:  "O  God,  if  there  be  a  God,  have  mercy  upon  my 
soul,  if  I  have  a  soul.  Amen."  There  ensued  a  deep 
silence,  and  all  eyes  seemed  to  turn  upon  the  bishop  in 
expectation  of  a  reply  to  this  scarcely  covert  attack 
upon  religion,  both  natural  and  revealed.  He  gravely, 
and  without  any  apparent  emotion,  observed,  that  he  had 
heard  of,  in  his  humble  opinion,  a  far  more  reasonable 
and  proper  one,  uttered  under  precisely  similar  circum- 
stances, by  a  private  soldier,  viz.  "  O  Lord  God,  if  in 
the  heat  of  action  I  forget  thee,  do  thou  not  forget  me. 
Amen." 


A    FEW    WORDS    TO    THE    SOLDIERS. 


3 


The  prompt,  decided  unanimity  of  preference  given 
by  the  company  to  the  simple  piety  and  manly  fervor  of 
the  latter  over  the  cold  and  cheerless  scepticism  of  the 
former  prayer  (if  prayer  it  can  be  termed),  was  a  mor- 
tifying repulse  to  the  insolent  unbeliever,  whose  lips 
were  completely  closed. 

While  reflecting  upon  this  anecdote,  it  suggested 
itself  to  the  writer  that  the  following  dialogue  between 
an  old  pious  sergeant  of  the  revolutionary  line,  and  a 
clever  private  in  the  army  of  the  present  day,  might 
prove  neither  an  unapt  nor  a  weak  commentary  upon  it, 

Sergeant.  Well,  Thomas,  I  see  you  are  in  the  service 
of  the  Confederate  States. 

Soldier.   Yes,  I  took  on  about  a  year  ago. 

Serg.  You  soldiers  of  the  present  day  have  far  easier 
times  than  we  old  continentals. 

Sold.  Be  it  so  or  not,  we  think  our  situation  might  be 
bettered. 

Serg.  Come,  now,  let  us  compare  new  with  old  a  little: 
perhaps  you  will  be  more  content  with  your  lot. 

Sold.   1  have  no  objection. 

Serg.  First  and  foremost,  you're  better  paid,  clothec 
and  fed.  In  the  Revolution  we  received  but  a  scantv 
stipend  at  best,  and  that  came  very  irregularly,  largt. 
balances  still  remaining  due;  besides,  it  was  in  old  con- 
tinental money — mere  rags  compared  in  actual  value 
with  the  bank  notes  you  are  paid  with.  Our  food  was 
miserable  in  quality,  often  in  a  spoiled  condition,  and  so 
scant  that  we  were  oftener  starving  than  otherwise,  and 
as  to  clothing,  we  more  nearly  resembled  scarecrows 
than  regulars — many  were  blanketless,  and  during  our 
sad  retreat  through  the  Jerseys,  our  army  could  have 
beerr  traced  by  our  men's  shoeless  and  often  bloody 
tracks. 

Sold.  Is  it  possible  !  Those  were  hard  times,  in  truth. 
And  did  none  mutiny  ? 

Serf/.  Mutiny  !  Ah,  we  had  no  time  for  that.  We 
were  continually  in  motion  or  in  action;  but  above  all, 
our  poor  fellows  were  full  of  patriotism,  and  thought  far 
less  of  their  own  sufferings  than  of  their  country's 
wrongs.  Now,  I  dare  say,  Thomas — I  mean  no  offence 
to  you — were   Congress  to   reduce  the  pay  of  their  sol- 


4  A   FEW    WORDS   TO   THE    SOLDIERS. 

diers  now,  and  to  order  them  upon  hard  and  dangerous 
service,  with  scanty  clothing  and  short  allowance,  they 
might  mutiny. 

Sold.   I  think  you  are  hard  on  us,  my  old  friend. 

Serg.  Not  a  whit,  not  a  whit,  Thomas.  Pardon  an  old 
veteran's  bluntness,  but  human  nature  is  human  nature 
still;  however,  I  speak  not  without  observation.  A 
year  or  more  ago,  I  spent  some  months  with  a  grand- 
daughter of  mine  who  is  married,  and  lives  in  the  vi- 
cinity of  Fort  *  *  *  *  ;   like  all  old  soldiers  who   love  to 

"  Shoulder  a  crutch,  and  show  how  fields  were  won," 

I  was  attracted  by  the  rattle  of  the  drum,  and  frequently 
visited  the  fort,  where  I  formed  an  acquaintance  with 
the  non-commissioned  officers  and  some  of  the  privates. 
Thus,  you  see,  I  had  opportunity  of  seeing  and  hearing 
how  things  are  carried  on  in  these  times.  Upon  the 
word  of  an  old  soldier,  they  compare  but  illy  with  old 
times. 

Sold.  No  doubt,  in  your  opinion,  old  folks  are  sadly 
prejudiced,  one  and  all. 

Serg.  Perhaps  so,  but  let  us  see  the  result  of  my  dis- 
coveries at  Fort  *  *  *  *  .  First  of  all,  desertions  were 
of  every-day's  occurrence,  and  the  most  trilling  causes 
were  alleged.  When  I  expressed  my  honest  indignation 
at  so  base,  so  unsoldierly  a  crime,  forsooth  I  was  laughed 
at.  What  !  exclaimed  I,  is  it  no  crime  to  forswear  one's 
self?  to  be  false  to  our  Maker  and  to  our  country  at 
the  same  time  ?  I  was  only  mocked  at  the  more.  Bit- 
ter taunts  were  uttered  against  religion,  and  as  to  pa- 
triotism, scarcely  one  knew  what  it  meant.  Now,  tell 
me,  whether  such  men,  if  exposed  to  the  privations 
cheerfully  borne  by  my  brave  and  trusty  old  comrades, 
in  u  times  which  tried  men's  souls,"  would  be  likely  to 
stand  by  their  colors. 

Sold.  I  must  candidly  say,  I  fear  not;  and  moreover, 
i  regret  1  cannot  say  that  desertions  are  less  frequent  at 
my  station. 

Serg.  Drunkenness,  too,  to  a  beastly  degree,  com- 
monly prevailed  at  Fort  ****,  and  was  not  looked  upon 
in  general  by  the  men  as  disgraceful;  indeed,  it  was 
deemed  manly  to  make  light  of  it;  and  when  a  man 


A    FEW    WORDS    TO    THE    SOLDIERS.  5 

was  punished  on  account  of  some  crime  he  had  com- 
mitted while  drunk,  he  was  viewed  as  a  kind  of  martyr, 
because  his  excuse  of  "  being  a  'little  high,'  and  did'nt 
know  what  he  was  doing"  was  not  taken.  And  as  to 
the  long-delayed  and  mild  inflictions  of  a  modern  court- 
martial,  compared  with  the  prompt,  efficacious  sentence 
of  an  old  drum-head,  they  only  appeared  to  provoke 
ridicule — every  drill  and  parade  the  ranks  were  sure  to 
be  disordered,  till  one  or  more  staggering  soldier  was 
sent  to  the  guard-house — sometimes  when  a  crowd  of 
ladies  and  gentlemen  were  present  as  spectators,  this 
shameful  exhibition  took  place;  but  I  never  found  that 
ihose  guilty  were  at  all  pointed  at,  or  considered  dishon- 
ored by  their  comrades.  But,  however  men  may  regard 
so  vile  a  habit,  the  words  of  the  Bible  will  ever  be 
found  true  in  the  end — At  the  last  it  biteth  like  a  ser- 
pent, and  stingeth  like  an  adder.     Prov.  xxiii,  32. 

Sold.   How  is  that,  pray? 

Serg.  Do  you  ask  ?  but  you  are  a  young  soldier  yet. 
Why,  the  "  mania  a  potu"  as  the  doctors  call  it — the 
horrors — the  being  confined  on  bread  and  water  in  a 
bomb-proof,  etc.,  are  rather  biting.  Then,  squandering 
their  wages,  destroying  their  constitutions,  bringing  on 
chronic  disorders  and  bilious  fevers — being  tempted  to 
steal,  lie,  and  desert  —  being  often  discharged,  and 
shamefully  drummed  out  of  service  as  confirmed  sots — 
all  these  are  capable  of  stinging  to  the  quick  as  to  the 
present  life;  and  as  to  that  to  come,  the  Bible  declares 
that  "the  drunkard  shall  not  inherit  the  kingdom  of 
God." 

Sold.  These  things  appear  very  wrong,  without  going 
so  much  to  the  Bible  ;  that  will  do  very  well  for  nervous 
old  women — they  are  far  readier  subjects  to  be  priest- 
ridden  than  we  soldiers. 

Serg.  Surely,  Thomas,  you  don't  mean  to  cast  disres- 
pect upon  the  Bible !  You  read  it,  sometimes,  of 
course? 

Sold.  Not  I,  indeed ;  not  since  I  was  a  boy  at  home  : 
though  there  are  a  number  on  the  mantel-piece  in  my 
barrack-room. 

Serg.  Not  read  God's  Word,  in  a  Christian  country? 
and  why,  indeed  ? 


6  A    FEW    WORDS    TO    THE    SOLDIERS. 

Sold.  You  call  it  the  Word  of'GoD.  I  am  not  sure 
that  it  is;  nor,  in  truth,  am  I  altogether  certified  that 
there  is  sucli  a  being. 

Serg.  Amazing!  Why,  Thomas,  you  astonish  me 
quite;  what,  has  not  your  chaplain  taken  the  pains  to 
instruct  —  but  what  do  I  say;  perhaps  you  have  no 
chaplain  in  your  regiment. 

So/d.  No,  indeed,  we  don't  allow  such  folks  to  hum- 
bug us. 

Serg.  More's  the  pity  of  you,  and  shame  upon  it. 
But  ah !  the  old  continental  Congress  and  General 
Washington,  God  bless  their  memory,  thought  differ- 
ently; so  did  my  old  Colonel  C,  and  Captain  M.  Many 
and  oft  are  the  times  that  I  have  seen  the  general's 
.staff,  and  the  several  regimental  staffs,  standing  with 
.oats  doffed,  while  our  chaplain  offered  up.  by  order  of 
Congress,  at  the  head  of  the  army  drawn  up  in  hollow 
square,  thanksgivings  for  our  past  successes,  and  im- 
plored a  blessing  upon  our  arms  for  the  future — ah! 
believe  me,  it  did  us  good,  it  was  a  cordial  to  our  har- 
rassed  minds,  and  nerved  anew  our  wearied  bodies  for 
battle  in  our  country's  cause. 

Sold.  Sergeant,  you  are  eloquent:  but  that  was  many 
years  ago — things  are  altered  now;  people  are  wiser. 
We  are  troubled  with  little  praying  or  preaching  in  our 
regiment,  and  as  to  the  Bibles  and  Testaments,  which 
the  societies  furnish  gratis  (I  can't  tell  how),  their  leaves 
are  more  torn  out  than  read. 

Serg.  Yes,  many  years  ago;  and  then  we  were  famil- 
iar with  want  and  danger,  were  living  from  hand  to 
mouth,  with  no  other  shelter  oftentimes  but  the  sky 
above;  were  literally  naked,  hungry  and  thirsty  most  of 
the  time,  and  no  man  could  tell  when  he  might  fall  for 
his  country — thus  were  we  led  by  a  sense  of  our  frailty, 
peril  and  want,  to  look  upward  for  help  and-strength. 

Sold.  That  seems  all  reasonable.  You  were  on  se- 
vere, honorable  and  dangerous  duty,  and  were  always 
employed  ;  but  in  time  of  inaction  we,  for  the  sake  of 
excitement,  visit  the  sutlers,  or  the  numerous  grog-shops 
vhich  are  by  law  provided  for  the  weary  and  the  thirsty 
traveller  within  a  stone's  cast,  and  stupify  ourselves  with 
beer,  or  get    "high1"    upon   gin   or  whiskey,    as   it  is 


A    FEW    WORDS    TO    THE    SOLDIERS.  7 

termed,  in  order  to  be  lowered  below  the  level  of  the 
brute. 

Serg.  Much  more,  therefore,  do  you  need  moral  in- 
struction. It  is  said  somewbere,  "that  idleness  is  the 
root  of  all  evil."  But  if  I  remember  aright,  you  doubted 
awhile  back  the  being  of  a  God. 

Sold.  Not  altogether;  but  only  that  I  am  not  quite 
sure  in  my  own  mind. 

Serg.  When  I  call  to  mind,  Thomas,  your  worthy, 
pious  parents,  who  are  both  now  reaping  above  the 
fruits  of  their  faith  and  obedience,  it  grieves  me  to  the 
bottom  of  my  heart  to  find  a  child  of  their's  so  unbeliev- 
ing. Most  willingly  would  I  spend  hours,  nay,  days,  to 
instruct  you  in  my  poor  way,  if  I  believed  you  sincerely 
desirous  of  learning;  but  do  not  play  upon  an  old  soldier 
for  the  purpose  of  scoffiing,  I  beg  of  you,  Thomas — that 
would  be  unmanly. 

Sold.  I  fear  I  have,  my  worthy  old  friend,  given  you 
just  grounds  to  suspect  me  from  talking  heedlessly;  in 
sober  truth,  I  have  latterly  associated  with  so  many  infi- 
dels and  bad  men  as  to  have  caught  their  slang ;  but 
there  are  moments,  and  you  have  touched  upon  one, 
when  better  feelings  come  over  me:  then  the  early  les- 
sons taught  me  by  my  beloved  parents  are  remembered, 
and  I  feel  that  I  lost  them  before  I  was  well  prepared  to 
withstand  the  temptations  of  the  world.  Not  to  detain 
you,  I  do  wish  some  instruction  as  to  God,  and  in  regard 
to  the  Bible,  that  I  may  have  somewhat  to  oppose  to  the 
boasted  scepticism  of  too  many  of  my  companions. 

Serg.  Now  you  talk  like  the  son  of  a  pious  father,  as 
you  are;  and  if  you  will  be  a  patient  listener  to  an  old 
man  who  desires  your  best  good,  I  will  endeavor  to  give 
you  some  homely  information  on  such  important  points 
as  those  in  question. 

As  to  a  God — without  going  to  the  Bible — common 
sense  tells  me  that  all  the  objects  which  I  see  or  feel, 
about,  above,  and  below  me,  on  the  earth  and  in  the 
skies,  are  manifestly  to  my  senses  so  adapted  to  each 
other,  so  fitted  for  the  purposes  to  which  they  are  natu- 
rally applied,  that  some  all-wise,  all-powerful  being,  far 
superior  to  man,  must  have  planned  and  made  them  so. 
For  a  plain  example,  you  once  knew  how  to  manage  a 


8  A    FEW    WORDS    TO    THE    BOLDIBRS. 

patent  plough,  as  you  now  do  to  handle  a  fire-lock;  but 
you  yourself  can  neither  manufacture  them  nor  have 
you  seen  them  fabricated.  Now,  tell  me,  when  you 
compare  their  several  part3  —  wood  work,  share  and 
coulter  of  the  one,  and  barrel,  stock,  lock  and  ramrod  of 
the  other,  and  see  how  well  adjusted  they  are,  and  when 
joined  together,  how  admirably  they  accomplish  certain 
useful  ends,  do  you  doubt  that  some  far  moro  skilful 
man,  personally  unknown  to  you,  some  time  or  other 
has  made  them. 

Sold.  I  do  not. 

Serg.  Now,  it  is  related  that  when  the  early  Mexicans 
first  beheld  the  Spanish  ships,  with  swelled  canvass, 
approach  their  shores,  and  afterwards  perceived  the 
terrible  'report  and  deadly  effect  of  their  cannon  and 
small  arms,  they  believed  the.  gods  whom  they  wor- 
shipped were  come  down  in  human  shape.  A  watch, 
too,  with  its  nice  work,  its  regular  and  animated  mo- 
tions, has  been  found  to  strike  savages  with  the  idea  of 
superior  wisdom  and  power ;  though  they  ignorantly 
consider  the  power  to  dwell  in  the  watch  itself. 

Sold.  These  ideas  are  quite  novel  to  me,  though  very 
simple. 

Serg.  Take  a  more  familiar  object  still:  look  upon 
your  hand — is  it  not  wonderfully  contrived  for  all  the 
uses  to  which  you  put  it :  to  provide  the  body  with  food  ; 
to  dress  and  cook  it;  to  convey  it  to  the  mouth;  to 
manufacture,  fit  and  put  on  clothes;  to  defend  the  body; 
to  handle  the  plough  and  the  gun;  to  wield  the  axe;  to 
build,  guide  and  manage  ships;  to  write,  to  sew,  etc., 
etc.  ?  Behold  your  other  members :  your  eyes,  how 
keen  their  vision,  how' delicate  their  formation,  and  how 
well  fortified  from  injury,  and  covered  from  the  lightest 
dust;  jour  ear,  so  sensitive  to  the  smallest  noise,  and 
yet  capable  of  sustaining  the  loudest;  your  tongue,  to 
aid  mastication,  and  to  speak  withal,  etc.  Now,  who 
made  them  thus?  Did  your  father  make  them?  and  so 
on  to  Adam.  Who  made  him,  and  of  what?  Who,  but 
that  all-wise,  almighty  Being  we  call  and  adore  as  God, 
formed  man  of  the  dust  of  the  earth? 

Sold.  I  see  not  how  to  deny  your  reasoning,  or  that  its 
conclusion  can  be  refuted.     What  you  have  said  is  sim* 


A    FEW    WORDS    TO    THE    60LDIERS.  9 

pie  enough,  and  yet  is  more  convincing  than  anything 

1  have  heard. 

Serg.  Because  it  is  the  simple  truth,  and  we* are  not 
left  to  bewildering  chance.  But  "enough,"  they  say, 
"  is  a  feast  J  "  I  will  not  weary  you  with  more,  but  go  at 
once  to  the  Bible. 

Sold.  Aye,  do  so,  and  explain  how  it  is  the  word  of 
God,  as  you  termed  it  awhile  past.  That  seems  myste- 
rious to  me,  how  God  should  have  spoken  to  man,  whom 
he  made  ! 

Serg.  That's  somewhat  owing  to  your  mistaking  my 
meaning.  I  have  called  it  God's  Word;  but  not  that 
every  word  and  sentence  was  spoken  directly  or  dictated 
to  mankind  by  God  himself;  but  that  men  were  raised 
up  and  inspired  by  him  from  time  to  time  with  the  sub- 
stance of  its  several  parts,  the  language  being  their  own 
chiefly,  Let  the  Bible  speak  for  itself — "Holy  men  of 
God  spake  as  they  were  moved  by  the  Holy  Ghost." 

2  Peter  i,  21 .  It  is  divided  you  know  into  two  parts,  the 
Old  and  the  New  Testaments;  I  will  describe  them 
separately. 

Sold.  Do  so,  I'm  all  attention. 

Serg.  The  Old  Testament  consists  of  the  books  written 
by  Moses,  and  by  various  leaders,  judges  and  prophets  of 
the  Jews  who  succeeded  him.  They  treat  of  the  creation 
of  the  world,  the  flood,  and  the  history  of  mankind  from 
Adam  to  Abraham,  and  from  him  of -the  history,  laws, 
rites  and  worship  of  their  nation  down  to  about  400  years 
before  Christ. 

These  legislators  and  prophets  in  their  writings  claim 
to  have  performed  miraculous  acts  before  the  whole 
nation,  and  as  they  ever  appealed  to  them  as  the  proofs 
of  the  divine  source  of  the  laws,  precepts  and  prophecies 
they  delivered  to  their  countrymen,  therefore,  the  ac- 
knowledgment by  the  latter  of  their  writings  as  the  true 
annals  or  history  of  their  nation,  is  a  conclusive  testi- 
mony to  the  truth  of  the  miracles  performed  by  them,  as 
well  as  to  the  inspiration  of  their  several  messages; 
since  God  alone  could  give  power  of  working  miracles. 

Sold.  Pray  give  me  a  distinct  explanation  of  the  word 
"  miraculous." 

Serg.  It  means  something  done  contrary  to  or  superior 


10  A    FEW    WORDS    TO    THE    SOLDIERS. 

to  the  usual  laws  or  course  of  nature  —  such  as  healing 
the  sick,  raising  the  dead  at  a  word,  with  a  touch,  etc. 
Another  unanswerable  evidence  is  to  be  found  in  their 
predictions,  exactly  foretelling  particular  future  events, 
as  to  nations  and  as  to  individuals  —  the  judgments  of 
God  upon  their  own  nation,  and  the  pagan  people  around 
them  —  the  rise  and  history  of  particular  men  —  to  the 
nicest  degree,  thousands  of  years  before  their  fulfilment. 

Sold.  Give  me  an  example  or  two? 

Serg.  I  approve  of  your  curiosity  much,  and  will 
cheerfully  gratify  it  ;  —  there  was  the  Babylonish  cap- 
tivity— that  the  Jews  for  disobedience  to  God's  precepts 
should  be  conquered  by  the  King  of  Babylon,  their 
temple  be  destroyed,  and  themselves  carried  captives  to 
Babylon — that  after  remaining  there  a  number  of  years, 
they  would  be  restored  to  liberty  and  to  their  native 
land,  and  enabled  torebuild  Jerusalem  and  the  Temple; 
again  their  continued  idolatry  and  wickedness,  and  their 
final  subjugation  by  the  Romans. 

The  coming  of  Christ,  and  particular  events  in  his 
personal  history,  viz  :  to  be  born  of  a  virgin — to  be  of 
David's  family — to  be  born  in  Bethlehem — to  ride  into 
Jerusalem  upon  an  ass — to  be  a  man  of  sorrows — to  be 
sold  for  thirty  pieces  of  silver — to  be  scourged,  buffetted 
and  spit  upon — to  be  numbered  with  malefactors,  that 
is,  to  be  crucified  between  two  thieves  —  to  have  gall 
and  vinegar  ffiven  him  to  drink  —  to  be  mocked  while 
hanging  on  the  cross — to  have  lots  cast  for  his  garments 
— to  make  his  grave  with  the  rich — and  to  rise  from  the 
dead  on  the  third  day  without  corruption.  Isa.  liii ;  Dan. 
'x,  26.  It  was  foretold  that  Christ  should  perform  many 
notable  and  beneficial  miracles  —  that  the  "eyes  of  the 
blind  should  be  opened"  — "  the  ears  of  the  deaf  un- 
stopped"—  "the  lame  man  leap  as  a  hart,"  and  "the 
tongue  of  the  dumb  sing."  Isa.  xxxv,  5.  It  was  also 
predicted  that  he  should  appear  before  the  sceptre  de- 
parted from  Judah,  thai  is,  the  final  overthrow  of  the 
Jewish  government  by  the  Romans. 

Sold.  But  how  do  you  know  that  these  facts  were  not 
written  after  they  had  occurred. 

Serg.  I  have  told  you  already  that  the  Jews  had  ac- 
knowledged for  ages  before  Christ  came,  the  Books  of 


A    FEW    WORDS    TO    THE    SOLDIERS.  11 

the  Old  Testament  as  their  national  annals,  containing 
the  prophecies  I  have  just  mentioned.  They  guarded 
them  with  the  most  watchful  care,  and  to  prevent  the 
smallest  alteration  or  addition,  even  counted  the  number 
of  the  words  or  letters  :  they  handed  them  down  from 
father  to  son,  from  generation  to  generation,  as  their 
true  national  history — as  the  genuine  writings  of  their 
prophets,  legislators,  etc.  There  could  have  been  no 
possibility  of  being  deceived  as  to  their  authenticity  or 
date.  As  Christianity  is  founded  upon  the  fulfilment 
in  Christ  of  the  predictions  contained  in  these  books, 
the  Christians  have  ever  referred  to  them  as  the  foun- 
dation of  their  faith  ;  the  Jews,  who  were  mortal  enemies 
and  opponents  to  Christ  and  his  followers,  and  are  sc 
in  their  scattered  stale  to  this  day,  would  not  contend 
for  the  truth  of  the  very  words  of  the  Old  Testament 
(though  they  deny  Christ*),  unless  the  universal  and 
perpetual  testimony  of  their  nation,  from  Moses  down, 
had  established  their  genuineness  beyond  doubt. 

Sold.  1  ihink  I  have  kept  with  you  so  far.  Now,  I 
wish  some  more  particular  account  of  their  actual  ful- 
filment. 

Sery.  This  exactly  brings  us  to  the  New  Testament. 
We  have  laid  the  foundation,  and  will  now  proceed  to 
the  Gospel  superstructure  ;  I  hope  you  are  tolerably 
persuaded  in  your  own  mind  as  to  the  divine  origin, 
and  of  course  the  truth  of  the  Old  Scriptures,  that  "holy 
men  of  God"  did  "speak"  therein  "as  they  were  moved  by 
the  Holy  Ghost."*  The  Gospel,  or  glad  tidings  as  it 
means,  of  peace  and  good-will  from  God  to  sinful  men, 
shows  how  God's  free  and  sovereign  mercy  and  the 
glorious  plan  of  man's  redemption  flowing  from  it,  were 
declared,  exemplified  and  fulfilled  in  Jesus  Christ,  and 
him  crucified. 

Sold.  Yes,  I  do  wish  te  know  something  clear  and 
intelligible  about  a  person  whose  name  I  have  heard 
oftener  blasphemed  in  the  army  than  reverenced,  and  of 
whom  I  have  heard  preachers  assert  hard  things. 

Serg.  What,  for  example  ? 

Sold,  Why,  calling  him  God  at  one  time  and  man  at 
another. 

Serg.  Preachers    often    confound    leading  doctrines 


12  A    FEW    WORDS    TO    THE    SOLDIERS. 

without  distinguishing  between,  and  showing  their  re- 
lation one  to  another.  Now,  they  only  stated  the  truth 
in  these  declarations. 

Sold.  I  am  astonished  in  my  turn.  I  should  think 
this  to  border  on  blasphemy. 

Serg.  Precisely  what  the  Jews  said  when  Christ 
claimed  to  be  divine. 

Sold.  What,  did  he  claim  to  be  divine  to  the  Jews  ? 

Serg.  Yes,  to  their  very  faces,  and  proved  it,  too. 

Sold.  And  how,  pray  1 

Serg.  By  opening  the  eyes  of  the  blind,  unstopping 
the  deaf  ears,  raising  the  dead,  etc.,  as  foretold  in  pro- 
phecy. 

Sold.  You  have  surely  forgotten  that  you  said  tho 
same  of  the  legislators,  leaders  and  prophets  :  and  they 
were  not  divine. 

Serg.  No,  I  have  not;  far  from  it.  These  last,  when 
they  delivered  their  messages  to  the  Jews,  were  careful 
to  say,  "The  Lord  of  Hosts  saith,"  "  The  Lord  com- 
mandeth,"  etc.,  and  always  appealed  in  a  solemn  man- 
ner to  Jehovah  to  give  miraculous  attestation  to  their 
words  as  his  inspired  message,  on  some  sign  on  their 
part,  as  when  (Exod.  vii,  19)  Aaron  stretched  out  hii 
rod  over  the  land  of  Egypt,  and  its  fearful  plagues  en- 
sued ;  when  the  Amalekites  fought  with  Israel,  and 
were  worsted  when  Moses  held  up  "the  rod  of  God  in 
his  hands,"  but  victorious  whenever,  through  heaviness, 
he  let  it  down.  Exod.  xvii,  11,  12.  When  the  wall  of 
Jericho  fell  down  at  the  sound  of  Joshua's  trumpets. 
Josh.  vi.  When  the  Prophet  Elijah  contended  with 
the  priests  of  Baal,  and  erected  an  altar,  and  put  wood 
and  a  bullock  thereon,  and  dug  a  trench  around  about 
it,  and  poured  water  upon  it,  and  prayed,  "O  Lord  God 
of  Abrabam,  Isaac  and  of  Israel,  let  it  be  known  this 
day  that  thou  art  God  in  Israel,  and  that  I  am  thy  ser- 
vant, and  that  I  have  done  all  these  things  at  thy  word," 
etc.  "Then  the  fire  of  the  Lord  fell,  and  consumed 
it,"  in  the  sight  of  all  the  people.  1  Kings  xvii i,  20-38. 
But  Christ  says  to  the  tempestuous  sea,  "  Peace,  be 
still,"  and  the  elements  are  hushed  ;  to  the  palsied,  "Arise 
and  walk;"  to  the  leper,  "I  will,  be  thou  clean;"  to 
the  widow's  son,  "young  man,  I  say  unto  thee,  Arise;" 


A    FEW    WORDS    TO    THE    SOLDIERS.  13 

and  to  the  nobleman,  "Thy  son  liveth,"  etc.:  don't  you 
see  the  difference? 

Sold.  Yes,  Christ  speaks  as  one  who  commands  and 
is  obeyed  in  his  own  right:  but  have  you  not  digressed 
from  the  chief  matter  in  hand? 

Serg.  Somewhat;  but  owing  to  your  own  invitation: 
we  will  return  to  the  Gospel. 

The  history  of  the  life  and  ministry  of  Christ  is 
mainly  contained  in  the  four  gospels  or  books  of  Mat- 
thew, Mark,  Luke  and  John,  which,  though  in  separate 
narratives,  give  most  impartially,  and  with  winning  sim- 
plicity, a  connected  and  harmonious  history  of  the  birth, 
actions,  precepts,  death,  resurrection,  and  ascension  of 
Christ.  These  men  were  poor  and  unlearned  fisher- 
men—  two  of  whom,  the  first  and  the  last,  were  amongst 
Christ's  immediate  disciples.  How  ean  we  account 
then  that  these  simple  narratives  of  so  many  interesting, 
wonderful,  and  supernatural  events;  so  many  pure  and 
heavenly  doctrines  and  precepts,  unknown  before  to  the 
most  eminent  human  sages  and  moralists,  and  subversive 
of  the  most  favored  prejudices  of  both  Jews  and  Pagans, 
could  have  been  sustained  against  the  incredulity,  the 
inveterate  and  bitter  hostility  of  the  whole  world,  save 
"a  small  sect  everywhere  spoken  against;"  could  have 
disseminated  the  Christian  faith  and  doctrine  among  so 
many  kindreds,  tongues  and  people,  for  above  1,800 
years,  and  are  even  now  being  multiplied  by  the  power 
of  the  press,  beyond  enumeration,  for  circulation  over 
the  whole  earth,  unless  from  the  truth  of  the  facts  con- 
tained in  them,  indelibly  impressed  upon  the  minds  of 
the  more  civilized  nations  of  the  globe  —  unless  the 
chain  of  testimony  from  the  Old  Testament  to  the  New, 
and  thence  through  the  Church  of  Christ  down  to  us 
has  remained  unbroken,  and  proof  against  the  malice  of 
wicked  angels  and  men. 

The  testimony  of  Jewish  and  Heathen  writers  corro- 
borates, in  the  chief  particulars,  and  controverts  in  none, 
the  plain  narratives  of  the  humble  fishermen  of  Galilee; 
the  gre^at,  the  wise,  the  learned  and  the  good,  have  re- 
posed their  faith  upon  them  as  the  inspired  repository  of 
divine  revelation  in  every  age :  and  what  is  far  more, 
the  authors  themselves,  and  their  fellows  the  primitive 


14 


A    FEW    WORDS    TO    THE    SOLDIERS. 


Christians,  staked  their  Jives  upon  their  truth,  and  were 
given  some  to  the  sword,  some  to  the  cross,  and  some  to 
the  fiery  stake.  * 

The  writers  of  the  New  Testament  state  themselves 
*o  have  been  present  at  the  miraculous  events  they 
describe,  and  would  not  have  risked  their  lives  unless 
satisfied  beyond  doubt  by  the  testimony  of  their  senses, 
seeing,  hearing,  smelling,  tasting  and  touching,  of  the 
truth  of  what  they  affirm.  Is  it  reasonable  to  think  that 
any  man  would  expose  himself  to  the  most  sure,  cruel 
persecution  and  suffering,  and  finally  peril  his  life,  upon, 
a  falsehood  ? 

Sold.  Not  at  all,  I'm  free  to  admit.  Well,  my  good 
old  friend  I  am  obliged  to  you  for  your  brief,  but  most 
clear  and  interesting  account  of  the  Bible,  and  will  now 
thank  you  to  return  to  the  nature  of  Christ.  What 
you  have  already  said  seems  to  me  very  strange  and 
mysterious. 

Serg.  Well  may  it  do  so,  when  the  inspired  St.  Paul 
writes  in  his  epistle  to  Timothy,  "Great  is  the  mystery 
of  godliness.  God  was  manifest  in  the  flesh,"  etc.,  but 
it  is  plainly  written  in  the  Bible,  and  if  we  do  indeed 
believe  that  to  be  the  word  of  God,  we  must  believe  it, 
though  in  its  nature  it  be  out  of  the  reach  of,  but  not 
contrary  to,  our  understandings. 

Sold.  Can  a  man  believe  what  he  does  not  compre- 
hend ? 

Serg.  We  do  believe  many  things  we  do  not  under- 
stand nor  can  explain  fully:  for  example,  we  believe 
that  when  we  sow  any  kind  of  seed  it  will,  in  due  season, 
take  root  downward,  spring  up,  blossom,  and  bear  fruit; 
but  we  do  not  comprehend  how  God,  who  said,  "Let  the 
earth  bring  forth  grass,  the  herb  yielding  seed,  and  the 
fruit  tree  yielding  fruit  after  his  kind"  (Gen.  i,  11), 
performs  so  wonderful  an  operation.  We  believe,  unless 
a  miracle  intervene,  the  sun  will  rise  to-morrow;  but  do 
we  understand  how  God  will  cause  the  earth  to  turn 
round  upon  its  axis,  that  the  sun  may  apparently  rise  to 
us .?  I  might  add  many  more  examples,  but  will  only 
draw  a  conclusion  from  what  has  been  already  said. 
We  see  the  works  of  creation  ;  we  behold  their  order, 
method,  fitness;    we  behold  unerring  wisdom  in   their 


A    FEW    WORDS    TO    THE    SOLDIERS.  15 

plan,  almighty  power  in  their  execution;  we,  therefore, 
acknowledge  and  adore  God,  but  we  understand  not  his 
manner  of  existence. 

Sold.  I  see  you  are  right,  and  that  we  fain  must 
believe  many  tilings  we  cannot  comprehend  ;  but  I  in- 
terrupt you. 

Serg.  The  Bible  declares  that  all  men  aTe,  in  the 
sight  of  God,  sinners,  and  under  the  curse  of  the  perfect 
law  of  God,  which  declareth,  "  The  soul  that  sinneth  it 
shall  die."  And,  my  young  friend,  can  our  own  con- 
sciences, or  our  own  observation,  assure  us  that  we,  in- 
dividually, or  our  relations  and  associates,  are  not  sinners 
against  the  pure  laws  and  precepts  of  our  Maker,  our 
Preserver,  our  Master,  and  our  King?  And  when  God, 
who  cannot  lie,  solemnly  tells  us  in  his  Word  that  we 
are  all  found  wanting,  and  condemned,  and  under  sen- 
tence by  this  law,  shall  we  rather  believe  the  world,  and 
our  own  deceitful  hearts,  and  be  at  peace,  when  "to  the 
wicked  there  is  no  peace?"  when  the  wrath  of  God  "who 
made,"  and  "who  can  as  easily  destroy,"  is  gathering 
above  our  guilty  heads  ? 

But  whatever  we  may  think,  the  truth  of  God  is 
pledged  —  we  must  all  die  —  'tis  true  we  must,  from  the 
mortality  of  our  bodies,  sooner  or  later  crumble  into 
dust :  but  our  souls  must  stand  before  the  bar  of  God  — 
a  justly  offended  God  !     • 

Now,  my  fellow  sinner,  I  ask  you  solemnly,  between 
you  and  myself  alone,  and  God  who  hears  us,  how  can 
yoa  and  I  escape  that  searching  trial  of  our  most  secret 
thoughts,  our  idle  and  profane  words,  our  evil  deeds? 
Who  shall  plead  for  us  there,  and  make  atonement  for 
our  sins?  There  is  neither  angel  or  man  worthy  enough, 
or  of  sufficient  dignity,  to  expiate  the  universal  violation 
of  God's  holy  laws  by  our  race  —  for  "God  chargeth 
the  angels  themselves  with  folly."     Job  iv,  18. 

The  Prophet  Isaiah  saith  :  "And  \\9  saw  that  there 
was  no  man,  and  wondered  that  there  was  no  intercessor: 
therefore,  his  arm  brought  salvation  unto  him;  and  his 
righteousness,  it  sustained  him."  Isaiah  lix,  16.  Yes, 
God's  mercy  and  goodness  "  have  laid  help  upon  one 
that  is  mighty.  Psa.  Ixxxix,  19.  God,  in  the  person  of 
his  only-begotten  Son,  Jesus  Christ,  took  upon  him  our 


16  A    FEW    WORDS    TO    THE    SOLDIERS. 

nature,  that  human  nature  which  had  sinned; — Christ, 
according-  to  the  prophecies  of  the  Old  Testament  which 
went  before  on  him,  "was  born  of  a  virgin,"  and  "be- 
came a  man  of  sorrows"  —  he  was  poor  and  despised, 
he  was  persecuted,  calumniated,  betrayed,  scourged,  spit 
upon,  and  crucified  as  a  malefactor;  but  he  was  with- 
out sin,  and  fulfilled  in  every  point  the  divine  laws 
which  our  race  had  all  broken,  and  "once  made  by  his 
body  upon  the  cross,  a  full,  perfect  and  complete  satis- 
faction and  atonement"  for  all  men.  But  he  was  God 
as  well  as  man ;  therefore,  when  he  spoke  it  was  "  as 
never  man  spake:"  it  was,  "Verily  I  say,"  and  when 
he  commanded,  "  lo !  the  winds  and  the  sea  obey  him," 
it  was  as  when  God  in  the  beginning  said,  "Let  there 
be  light,  and  there  was  light." 

In  the  Bible  we  find  the  names  and  attributes  of  God 
bestowed  upon  Christ,  as  well  as  the  name,  character, 
and  physical  infirmities  of  man:  he  must  needs  be, 
therefore,  God  and  man,  or  the  Scriptures  are  untrue. 
But,  pray,  is  it  a  whit  more  marvellous  for  Almighty 
Power  to  unite  his  own  self-existent  nature  with  the 
human  nature  created  by  him,  in  the  person  of  the  holy 
child  Jesus,  than  that  he  should  have  formed  man  of  the 
dust,  and  have  breathed  into  him  a  living  soul  ? 

Sold.  Both  are,  in  truth,  beyond  our  comprehension. 
Did  you  mean,  when  you  stated  just  now  that  Christ 
made  a  full  atonement  for  all  men,  that  all  are  without 
exception  pardoned  on  account  of  it? 

Serg.  Alas!  no.  St.  Peter  says,  "To  him  give  all 
the  prophets  witness,  that  through  his  name  whosoever 
believeth  in  him  shall  receive  remission  of  sins.  Acts 
x,  43.  To  believe  in  him  is  the  condition  on  which  sins 
are  remitted.  I  will  explain  this  by  a  kind  of  parable. 
Suppose  a  number  of  persons  confined  in  jail  under 
sentence  of  death  for  some  notable  offence,  and  some 
benevolent  and  great  man  interests  himself  in  their  be- 
half, and,  after  much  entreaty,  obtains  from  government 
the  lives  of  the  prisoners;  but  on  condition  that  they 
sign  a  solemn  pledge  to  remove,  by  a  certain  day,  from 
the  country  forever.  If  these  persons  do  not  put  faith  in 
this  promise,  and  refuse  to  sign  the  pledge,  or  if,  after 
signing  it,  they  should  begin  to  think  that  government 


A    FEW    WORDS    TO    THE    SOLDIERS.  17 

would  wink  at  their  remaining  after  the  appointed  day, 
and  should  fail  to  go,  they  would  justly  be  put  to  death 
under  their  original  sentence,  would  they  not? 

Sold.  To  be  sure. 

Serg.  The  Bible  (you  do  not  wonder  now,  I  see,  as 
you  did,  at  my  frequent  reference  to  this  book)  declares 
that  Christ  "died  for  our  sins,  and  rose  again  for  our 
justification." 

1st.  That  our  actual  sins  should  be  pardoned,  in  virtue 
of  his  bearing  the  punishment  due  unto  them,  in  the 
same  nature  as  our  own,  and  of  his  perfect  obedience  to 
the  perfectly  pure  laws  we  have  violated,  conditional 
upon  our  hearty  trust  in  him  as  our  sole,  all-efficient 
Saviour,  and  upon  our  "bringing  forth  fruits  meet  for 
repentance."  Matt,  iii,  S.  Christ  died  to  save  us  from, 
and  not  in  our  sins.  St.  Paul  says,  "But  if,  while  we 
seek  to  be  justified  by  Christ,  we  ourselves  also  are 
found  sinners,  is,  therefore,  Christ  the  minister  of  sin  ? 
God  forbid.  For  if  I  build  again  the  things  which  1  de- 
stroyed, I  make  myself  a  transgressor."  Gal.  ii,  17,  IS. 
As  if  those  criminals  mentioned  above  should  return 
whence  they  were  banished,  and  commit  the  same  or 
other  offences,  surely  the  mediation  of  their  intercessor 
would  be  of  no  more  avail.  Does  this  seem  clear  to 
your  mind  ? 

Sold.  Quite  so;  but,  alas!  who  can  cease  from  sin? 
who  can  be  perfect? 

Serg.  None  —  not  the  greatest  saints;  but  far  less  they 
who  rely  upon  any  fancied  goodness  or  strength  of  their 
own  :  only  they  who  seek  aright  that  supernatural  and 
spiritual  aid  Christ  has  promised,  will  be  delivered  from 
the  power  of  it,  and  enabled  "to  work  out  their  salva- 
tion with  fear  and  trembling?" 

Sold.  What  aid  is  that  ? 

Serg.  The  help  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  to  inspire  us  with 
good  thoughts  and  holy  resolutions,  and  to  strengthen  us 
to  fulfil  them. 

Sold.  That's  to  my  mind  fanatical. 

Serg.  It  is  the  doctrine  of  the  Bible,  and  a  vital  one; 

and  what  is  surprising  in  it,  since  the  great  heathen 

moralists  and  sages,  Plato  and  Socrates,  acknowledged 

man's  need   of  divine   instruction  ?     We  have   now  a 

2 


18  A    FEW    WORDS   TO    THE    SOLDIERS. 

divine  revelation,  and  that  assures  us  that  God  will  (St. 
Luke  xi,  13)  "give  the  Holy  Spirit  to  them  who  ask 
him/'  to  impress  the  truths  of  that  revelation  upon  their 
minds  and  hearts.  God,  who  formed  our  spirits  within 
us,  can,  assuredly,  in  secret  influence  them  by  his  own 
Spirit.  You  call  it  fanatical,  and  so  does  the  world; 
but  it  has  been,  and  ever  is,  the  most  comfortable  ani- 
mating doctrine  of  the  Jewish  church,  from  David  "  the 
sweet  Psalmist  of  Israel,"  and  of  the  Church  of  Christ, 
from  its  institution. 

Sold.  I  own  that  I  have  thought  little  on  it:  I  always 
s-lighted  it  as  mere  enthusiasm  and  cant. 

Serg.  I  pray  that  you  may  henceforth  regard  it  as  a 
most  reasonable  and  comforting  truth  —  may  experience 
its  holy  adaptation  to  your  own  necessities  as  a  sinful, 
and  weak  pilgrim  on  earth  —  a  prodigal  son  far  away 
from  his  father's  house,  desiring  to  return  thither,  but 
fearing  to  do  so?  Did  a  Christian,  during  his  perilous 
warfare  with  enemies  without  and  foes  within,  doubt  it 
for  a  moment,  he  would  be  in  despair,  as  any  man  would 
have  been  in  our  revolutionary  struggles,  who  exercised 
no  faith  in  a  superintending  Providence. 

Sold.  You  believe,  then,  that  it  may  be  had,  if  prayed 
for. 

Serg.  Certainly,  if  God  sees  that  it  is  asked  in  a 
humble,  teachable  frame  of  mind. 

Sold.  But  how  shall  one  know  if  his  prayer  be  an- 
swered ? 

Serg.  "  And  lie  said,  So  is  the  kingdom  of  God,  as  if 
a  man  should  cast  seed  into  the  ground;  and  should 
sleep,  and  rise  night  and  day,  and  the  seed  should  spring 
and  grow  up,  he  knoweth  not  how."  Mark  iv,  26,  27. 
"And  let  us  not  be  weary  in  well-doing:  for  indue 
season  we  shall  reap  if  we  faint  not."  Gal.  vi,  9.  "For 
the  promise  is  unto  you  and  your  children,  and  to  all 
that  are  afar  ofT,"  etc.  God  has  promised,  and  will  cer- 
tainly perform,  to  you  and  to  me,  and  to  all  who  will 
humbly  and  importunately  call  upon  him. 

Sold.  I  know  not  how,  in  general,  the  revolutionary 
soldiers  regarded  this  doctrine  ;  but,  my  old  friend,  the 
soldiers  of  the  present  day  would  mock  at  and  deride  it, 
and  I  incline  to  think  some  of  the  officers  would  laugh 


A    FEW    WORDS    TO    THE    SOLDIERS.  19 

at  it  as  an  old  woman's  tale.  Why,  I  have  heard  of 
more  than  one  as  having  said  that  religion  might  do  for 
citizens  well  enough,  but  that  soldiers  had  no  business 
with  it. 

Serg.  It  is  hardly  to  be  wondered  that  the  majority  of 
private  soldiers,  who  are  mostly  unlearned  men  and  with- 
out the  benefit  of  instruction,  either  mental  or  spiritual, 
with  no  chaplain  to  care  for  their  souls,  should  ignorantly 
deride  what  they  do  not  understand,  and  have  not  given 
a  serious  thought  to;  but  I  am  unwilling  to  suppose, 
for  a  moment,  that  any  well-informed  officers  of  oui 
army,  who  have  received  at  the  West  Point  Academy, 
founded  under  Gen.  Washington's  auspices,  a  sounci 
mathematical  education,  and  are  qualified  thereby  to 
make  an  accurate  and  intelligent  examination  of  the 
evidences  of  Christianity,  besides  having  abundant  lei- 
sure in  time  of  peace,  would  set  so  unwise  an  example 
to  the  poor  soldiers  whom  God  has  put  under  them,  as 
to  hoot  at  what  they  have  been  at  no  pains  to  investigate. 
Such  a  state  of  things,  if  at  all  true,  and  you  are  not 
misinformed,  is  surely  deplorable.  Now,  how  worthy  of 
imitation  the  conduct,  as  simply  portrayed  in  Scripture, 
of  two  Roman  centurions  (or  captains).  The  one  men- 
tioned in  the  seventh  chapter  of  St.  Luke,  though  born 
a  Pagan,  has  exhibited  an  instance  of  perhaps  the  most 
intelligent  yet  humble  faith  on  record,  which  our  Sa- 
viour at  the  moment  commended,  "  as  greater  than  any 
lie  had  found  in  Israel ;"  that  nation  of  whom  it  was 
said,  "  He  came  unto  his  own,  and  his  own  received  him 
not."  He  had  heard  of  Jesus'  miracles,  and  far  from 
doubting,  or  from  attributing  them,  as  did  the  Jews,  to 
diabolic  influences,  he  thus  expressed  through  his 
friends  a  humble  reliance  upon  the  Saviour:  "Wherefore 
neither  thought  I  myself  worthy  to  come  unto  thee,  but 
say  in  a  word,  and  my  servant  shall  be  healed."  The 
other  is  described  in  Acts  x,  2,  as  "  a  devout  man,  and 
one  that  feared  God  with  all  his  house,  which  gave  much 
alms  to  the  people,  and  prayed  to  God  always."  Unto 
him  God  gave  the  glorious  distinction  of  becoming, 
through  angelic  agency,  the  first  baptized  convert 
from  the  Gentiles;  and  that  his  example  was  blessed 
to  the  soldiers  under  him,  may  be  seen  from  the  seventh 


20  A    FEW    WORDS    TO    THE    SOLDIERS. 

verse  of  the  same  chapter.  And  it  was  a  centurion,  who, 
when  Christ  expired  on  the  cross,  seeing  his  magnani- 
mous submission  to  so  ignominious  a  death,  gave  that 
noble  and  ingenuous  attestation  to  his  divine  character 
and  claim,  uTruly  this  man  was  the  Son  of  God." 

Sold.  Most  beautiful  examples,  truly  j  I  confess  with 
shame  I  never  noticed  them  before.  I  must  read  my 
Bible  more. 

Serg.  Ah,  my  young  friend,  I  am  an  old,  superannu- 
ated veteran  ;  my  earthly  battles,  in  one  sense,  are  Jong 
since  over  ;  I  have  outlived  many  of  my  relatives,  and 
the  associates  of  my  youth  and  manhood;  my  toils  and 
pleasures  are  alike  past,  my  sun  is  about  to  set  :  but  1 
thank  God  that  I  have  my  Bible,  and  sight  enough  to 
read  its  consolatory,  animating  promises,  and  assurances 
of  a  better  world  to  come.  I  trust  that  when  the  time 
arrives,  as  soon  it  must,  for  my  poor  crazy  limbs  to  be 
laid  in  a  soldier's  honored  grave,  I  will  be  able  humbly 
to  say  as  a  soldier  of  Jesus  Christ,  "  I  have  fought  the 
good  fight,  I  have  finished  my  course,  I  have  kept  the 
faith:  henceforth  there  is  laid  up  for  me  a  crown  of 
righteousness,"  etc.  Sincerely  do  I  pray  that  you  may 
also  find  within  the  sacred  pages,  "  the  pearl  of  great 
price."  Christ  says,  "  Search  the  Scriptures  ;  they  are 
they  which  testify  of  me."  John  v,  39. 

Sold.  I  am  too  much  your  debtor,  my  good  old  friend, 
to  neglect  your  kind  admonitions  ;  depend  upon  it,  I 
will  not  put  them  from  me  as  before. 

Serg.  But  as  there  are  many  things  contained  therein 
hard  to  understand,  and  which  we  may  ''  wrest  to  our 
own  destruction;"  many  things  opposed  to  our  corrupt 
and  evil  propensities  ;  pray  secretly  to  God  to  enlighten 
your  mind  and  influence  your  heart  by  his-Holy  Spirit, 
and  to  give  you  such  a  teachable  disposition,  that  the 
blessing  of  Christ  may  rest  upon  you.  To  the  incredu- 
lous Thomas,  he  said,  ll  Thomas,  because  thou  hast 
seen  me,  thou  hast  believed  :  blessed  are  they  that  have 
not  seen,  and  yet  have  believed."  St.  John  xx,  29. 

Sold.  I  cannot,  if  I  would,  gainsay  your  advice;  I 
have  lived  like  a  heathen,  I  confess,  without  prayer  of 
any  kind. 

Serg.  And,  therefore,  fell  unresistingly  into  the  ranks 


A    FEW    WORDS    TO    THE    SOLDIERS.  21 

of  cold  and  cheerless  infidelity.  Why,  the  poor  Pagans 
are  very  diligent  in  praying  to  stocks  and  stones,  and 
shall  Christian  soldiers,  in  a  gospel  land,  not  pray  to 
God  their  Maker,  nor  read  his  Word  ! 

What  would  be  the  result,  I  ask,  if  soldiers  read  the 
holy  and  peaceful  precepts  of  the  Bible,  and  would  pray 
to  God  for  his  Spirit  to  enable  them  to  understand,  to 
love,  and  obey  them  ?  Drunkenness,  that  bane  of  sol- 
diers, gambling,  lying,  stealing,  evil-speaking,  desertion, 
waste  of  health,  character,  and  pay,  would  all  cease. 
Soldiers,  instead  of  the  character  of  idle,  worthless  sots, 
which  the  bad  conduct  of  too  many  of  their  number 
causes  their  fellow  citizens  to  entertain,  would  be  looked 
upon  as  quiet,  orderly,  cleanly  members  of  society. 
They  would  be  obedient  and  respectful  to  their  officers; 
friendly,  kind,  and  at  peace  one  with  another;  would 
perform  their  duties,  "not  with  eye-service,  as  men 
pleasers,  but  in  singleness  of  heart,  fearing  God." 
They  would  be  content  and  frugal  with  their  wages; 
would  be  satisfied  with  the  warm  and  excellent  clothing, 
and  the  wholesome  food  they  are  provided  with;  and  as 
to  the  comforts  and  benefit  of  their  post  hospitals  when 
sick,  they  would  haply  be  without  much  opportunity  of 
experiencing  them,  from  their  improved  health  of  body 
and  cheerfulness  of  mind.  And  if,  in  the  dispensations 
of  Providence,  laid  upon  a  bed  of  sickness  and  brought 
to  death's  door,  their  Bibles  and  their  pious  comrades 
would  be  their  comfort;  but  above  all,  their  habits  of 
prayer  would  bring  down  assurances  and  consolations 
above  what  earth  can  give,  and  which,  in  moments  of 
pain,  and  sickness,  and  death,  neither  infidel  nor  scoffer 
can  intermeddle  with. 

Said.  Ah  !  my  own  brief  experience  tells  me  what  a 
blessed  aspect  a  garrison  would  put  on  under  such  cir- 
cumstances. What  a  pleasant  thing  to  be  a  soldier  it 
would  then  be;  every  one  would  do  his  own  share  of 
duty,  and  not  throw  it  upon  his  more  innocent  comrades 
by  getting  confined;  the  only  strife,  if  such  at  all,  would 
be  who  should  excel  as  a  ready  and  clean  soldier. 

Serg.  Aye,  aye,  then  "would  the  desert  rejoice  and 
blossom  as  the  rose."  (Isaiah  xxxv,  1.)  Every  soldier 
would  be  a  Christian  gentleman.     None  by  intoxication 


22  A    FEW    WORDS    TO    THE    SOLDIERS. 

or  vulgar  conduct  would  put  himself  on  a  par  with  the 
brute.  Should  war  arise,  what  an  army  of  heroes,  of  con- 
scientious, high-principled  Christian  soldiers  to  defend 
our  country!  Mutiny,  desertion,  cowardice,  drunken- 
ness, and  sleeping  on  duty,  etc.,  would  find  no  place. 
The  banner  under  which  they  fight  would  be  honored 
by  such  defenders,  and  they  would  deserve  a  general 
such  as  Washington,  who,  after  the  disastrous  affairs  of 
Brandywine  and  Germantown,  while  the  army  lay  at 
Valley-Forge,  during  the  severe  winter  of  '77  and  '78,  in 
a  very  destitute  condition,  was  in  the  frequent  habit  ot 
visiting  alone  a  secluded  grove.  This  excited  the  cu- 
riosity of  a  neighboring  Quaker  gentleman,  named  Potts, 
who  sided  with  the  Tories,  and  led  him  to  watch  his 
movements  on  one  of  these  occasions,  till  lie  perceived 
this  great  and  good  man  upon  his  knees,  and  engaged  in 
prayer :  such  was  the  impression  made  on  him,  that  on 
returning  home  he  related  the  circumstance  to  his  family 
and  exclaimed  — "Our  cause  is  lost,"  etc.  Surely,  when 
a  man  like  Washington  thus  acted,  no  officer  or  soldier 
of  our  army  should  view  himself  as  doing  an  unbecoming 
act,  or  as  being  justly  open  to  ridicule  in  "praying  to 
God  always,"  and  in  all  things  setting  a  pious  example 
to  his  fellow  beings  and  companions  in  arms.  God 
forbid. 

Sold.  A  most  striking  example,  indeed;  one  which  no 
true-hearted  Confederate  soldier  should  hear  without 
emotion.     I  pray  never  to  forget  it. 

Serg.  His  wonderful  preservation  on  Braddock's  bloody 
field,  and  on  other  occasions  —  his  calm  and  undismayed 
demeanor  in  the  most  gloomy  and  disheartening  circum- 
stances—  and  the  final  success  of  the  American  arms 
under  his  auspices  —  may  well  be  attributed  in 'part  to 
his  manly  prayers,  and  pious  trust  in  an  overruling 
Providence.  'Tis  true  that  great  matters  were  at  stake 
in  those  times,  and  calculated  to  drive  us  to  our  knees; 
and  so  it  is  now;  but,  if  it  were  not  so,  we  have  no 
reason  to  doubt  but  that  God  will  regard  us  in  the  day 
"of  small  things,"  nor  forget  at  any  time  those  who 
humbly  call  upon  Him,  since  he  has  declared  that  "not 
a  sparrow  falleth  to  the  ground  without  Him,"  and  that 
he    "will   ever  temper   the  wind  to  the  shorn   lamb." 


A    FEW    WORDS    TO    THE    SOLDIERS.  23 

Therefore,  my  dear  young  friend,  do  not  omit  in  your 
youth  and  manhood,  when  all  things  are  apparently 
smooth  and  prosperous  to  you  to  offer  with  constancy, 
faith,  and  devotion,  the  sacrifices  of  prayer,  thanks- 
givings, and  praise,  to  Him  who  is  the  author  of  all  your 
blessings,  that  you  may  not  be  "ashamed  in  the  evil 
time"  of  misfortune,  war,  bereavement,  sickness,  old 
age,  temptation  and  trial;  and  your  own  short  expe- 
rience has  told  you  how  numerous,  treacherous,  and 
powerful,  the  temptations  to  which  a  soldier  is  every  day 
and  hour  exposed.  We  are  about  to  part,  perhaps  never 
to  meet  again  in  this  world;  let  my  last  words  be  then 
impressed  upon  you  as  the  legacy  of  a  poor,  old  veteran, 
as  to  this  world's  goods,  to  the  son  of  departed  friends. 
The  Bible  is  like  a  golden  mine;  prayer  is  the  only  in- 
strument by  which  its  treasures  may  be  dug  and  brought 
to  light,  and  what  now  is  more  rational,  more  suitable  to 
a  dependent  and  accountable  creature  than  to  supplicate 
and  worship  bis  Almighty  Creator! 

Sold.  Ere  we  part,  accept  my  best  thanks,  my  good, 
old  friend,  for  your  patience  and  perseverance  in  en- 
deavoring to  instruct  one  as  ignorant  and  wilful  as 
myself.  Your  remarks,  at  once  so  clear  and  so  true,  and 
so  charitably  urged  on  one,  I  fain  hope  will  not  be  lost 
upon  me.  I  am  determined,  as  God  shall  help  me,  what- 
ever my  comrades  may  say,  no  longer  to  despise  and 
neglect  the  Bible,  but  attentively  to  read  it;  and  hope  I 
shall  never  be  ashamed  hereafter  to  follow  the  example 
of  so  brave  a  soldier,  so  great  and  good  a  man,  so  true  a 
patriot,  as  George  Washington  ;  and  to  kneel  in  prayer 
to  God  who  made,  who  preserveth,  who  hath  redeemed, 
and  who  will  finally  judge  me.  I  hope  we  may  again 
meet,  and  renew  our  interesting  discourse. 

Serg.  Most  heartily  say  I  Amen  to  this.  I  am  not 
wortby  of  so  much  commendation,  since,  when  I  have 
done  all,  I  am  "still  an  unprofitable  servant,"  and  have 
only  done  my  bounden  duty  ;  but  I  am  thankful  we  have 
met,  and  pray  that  God  will  bless  those  truths  I  have 
uttered  in  His  name  for  want  of  a  better  spokesman; 
because  they  are  those  He  has  himself,  in  mercy  and 
compassion  to  our  proud  and  ignorant  race,  caused  to  be 
promulgated  in  his  blessed  Word.    'Farewell. 


24  A    FEW    WORDS    TO    THE    SOLDIEKs. 

u  Blessed  Lord,  who  hast  caused  all  holy  Scriptures  to 
be  written  for 'our  learning;  grant  that  we  may  in  such 
wise  hear  them,  read,  mafic,  learn,  and  inwardly  digest 
them,  that  by  patience  and  comfort  of  thy  holy  Word, 
we  may  embrace  and  ever  hold  fast  the  blessed  hope  of 
everlasting  life,  which  thou  hast  given  us  in  our  Saviour 
Jesus  Christ.     Amen." 


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